The prospect front continues to be rather quiet lately in terms of promotions. Over the last week or so, we've seen Marco Luciano return to the Majors, along with the promotions of Johnathan Rodriguez in Cleveland and Ryan Bliss in Seattle, but that's about it.
In fact, the biggest prospect name to change levels was Joey Loperfido, who was optioned back to Triple-A a few days ago. He rejoins a list full of exciting names that could all make an impact this summer.
Remember, stashing prospects should be done strategically and varies from league to league. Don't leave your teams without much depth just because you want all the high-upside prospects on your roster.
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Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for 2024
Notes on plenty of prospects can be found below the rankings table. And remember, these rankings are for 2024 redraft value only. These are MLB prospects to make a rest-of-season fantasy baseball impact in 2024 potentially.
Honorable Mentions (Hitters):
Chase DeLauter (CLE), Pedro Leon (HOU), Matt Shaw (CHC), Spencer Jones (NYY), Carson Williams (TBR), Justyn-Henry Malloy (DET), Luisangel Acuna (NYM), Ben Rice (NYY), Owen Caissie (CHC), Jakob Marsee (MIA), Brooks Lee (MIN), Jace Jung (DET), Victor Mesa Jr. (MIA), Justin Foscue (TEX), Damiano Palmegiani (TOR), Drew Gilbert (NYM), Blake Dunn (CIN), Jacob Wilson (OAK), Colby Thomas (OAK), Brennen Davis (CHC), Niko Kavadas (BOS), Jhonkensy Noel (CLE).
Honorable Mentions (Pitchers):
AJ Smith-Shawver (ATL), Jack Leiter (TEX), Jackson Jobe (DET), Ricky Tiedemann (TOR), Jacob Misiorowski (MIL), Blade Tidwell (NYM), Will Warren (NYY), A.J. Blubaugh (HOU), Carson Whisenhunt (SFG), Chayce McDermott (BAL), David Festa (MIN), Sem Robberse (STL)
Mid-Week Updates:
Wednesday 5/29: Junior Caminero was placed on the Injured List (quad) and could miss 4-6 weeks.
Rank | Player | Pos | Team | ETA |
1 | Junior Caminero | 3B | TBR | June |
2 | James Wood | OF | WAS | June |
3 | Jasson Dominguez | OF | NYY | June |
4 | Jackson Holliday | 2B/SS | BAL | July |
5 | Noelvi Marte | 3B | CIN | July |
6 | Heston Kjerstad | OF | BAL | July |
7 | Cade Povich | SP | BAL | July |
8 | Orelvis Martinez | SS | TOR | July |
9 | Joey Loperfido | OF | HOU | July |
10 | Cade Horton | SP | CHC | July |
11 | Jordan Lawlar | SS | ARI | August |
12 | Shane Baz | SP | TBR | July |
13 | Graham Pauley | 3B | SDP | July |
14 | Garrett Mitchell | OF | MIL | July |
15 | Coby Mayo | 3B | BAL | August |
16 | Tyler Black | 3B | MIL | July |
17 | Max Meyer | SP | MIA | August |
18 | Connor Norby | 2B | BAL | July |
19 | Jonatan Clase | OF | SEA | July |
20 | Thomas Saggese | INF | STL | July |
21 | Addison Barger | SS/3B | TOR | July |
22 | Drew Thorpe | SP | CHW | July |
23 | Colson Montgomery | SS | CHW | August |
24 | Dylan Crews | OF | WAS | August |
25 | Victor Scott II | OF | STL | July |
Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings Analysis
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
After going hitless in four games from 5/19-5/24, Junior Caminero reached base four times in nine plate appearances over the weekend, including another home run and a 117.2 mph single. Only Giancarlo Stanton, Oneil Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have hit a ball harder than that in the Major Leagues this season. Caminero also received an additional start at second base which makes three starts there in his last 10 games. I'm not sure if he'll be up this week, but Caminero remains the #1 prospect stash for redraft leagues.
Junior Caminero flexes his 70-grade power 💪
MLB's No. 3 prospect (@RaysBaseball) launches a 107 mph laser for his eighth homer of the year for the @DurhamBulls. pic.twitter.com/RGi2uynvlO
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 26, 2024
Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays
Another Tampa Bay Ray worth stashing right now is electric right-hander Shane Baz. After missing all of 2023, Baz returned to Triple-A Durham in early May and has made four starts totaling 12 innings. Over his last two outings, Baz has allowed just two earned runs combined with seven strikeouts in 7.1 innings. However, he's also walked five in those 7.1 innings and has 11 walks total in 12 innings since returning.
I'm sure Tampa Bay will give Baz at least a few more starts in Triple-A to continue shaking off the rust, but he's a candidate to return to the big league rotation this summer and has the upside of a Top 25 starter. I know this feels like forever ago, but don't forget that Baz had a 2.06 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 4.4% walk rate, and a 37.9% strikeout rate in 17 starts back in 2021, which cemented his status as a Tier-1 pitching prospect at the time. He's incredibly risky but with immense upside.
Cade Povich, Baltimore Orioles
Another pitching prospect worth stashing is Cade Povich, who is loudly knocking on the door to Baltimore. In 10 starts for Triple-A Norfolk this season, Povich has recorded a 2.35 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 8.8% walk rate, and a 32.9% strikeout rate. However, the problem has been the incredible depth in front of him. Even with John Means and Dean Kremer landing on the IL last week, Baltimore still has a rotation of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Cole Irvin, and Albert Suarez.
Cade Povich reaches 400 career strikeouts with this backwards K of Jim Haley pic.twitter.com/bRhXFb8yNL
— Tides Notes (@TidesNotes) May 19, 2024
Povich should be the next man up at this point, though, and I still believe he pitches 70-90 innings in the Major Leagues this season. When he is up, Povich's ability to miss bats at a high clip makes him intriguing for fantasy purposes and his lower walk rate is encouraging as well.
Joey Loperfido, Houston Astros
With Joey Loperfido returning to Triple-A, he re-enters the Top 10 in this week's stash rankings. It's not that Loperfido's stint with Houston went poorly or anything. In 43 plate appearances, Loperfido hit .333 with a .381 OBP, one home run, and one steal, but did have a 39.5% strikeout rate. However, with Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers healthy, along with the return of Jose Abreu, there simply wasn't any available playing time for Loperfido, who was playing sporadically before being optioned.
Stashing him now depends on your league depth, but I do anticipate Loperfido back up this summer as soon as there's another injury in the outfield or Houston gets tired of Abreu hitting .150 in July.
Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
Alright, it's probably time for a Jackson Holliday update. After going 5/27 in his first seven games after returning to Triple-A, Holliday has slashed .260/.419/.425 with three home runs, three steals, and nearly as many walks (20) as strikeouts (22) over his last 19 games. I'm not sure Holliday's return is imminent, though, especially after his rough first Major League stint last month. I expect Baltimore to let Holliday get really hot again before starting the second act of Holliday's career.
Graham Pauley, San Diego Padres
Graham Pauley has spent time with San Diego across two separate stints this season, neither one lasting more than a handful of games though. And while he's not as flashy as the top names on this list, I'm still expecting some sort of fantasy impact from Pauley this season.
Over his last 11 games in Triple-A, Pauley is slashing .282/.408/.564 with five doubles, two home runs, and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (11). He's also been playing all around the diamond, drawing starts at both corner infield spots, left field, and even a game at second base. That versatility should only help Pauley return to San Diego sooner rather than later.
If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.
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